Washing machine hose



May 27, 1958 CONDlT 2,836,047

WASHING MACHINE HOSE Filed June '7, 1956 INVENTOR.

' ROBERT E. CONDIT MEWQ,

Hi5 ATTORNEY United States Patent 0 2,836,647 WASHING MACHINE HOSERobert E. Condit, Louisville, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company,a corporation of New York Application June 7, 1956, Serial No. 589,897

3 Claims. (Ci. 68-484) My invention relates to clothes washing machinesand more particularly to such machines provided with a clothes basketmounted on an outer imperforate tub and including a recirculation systemfor continuously cleaning and filtering the washing liquid during thewashing operation.

By providing a recirculation system in a clothes washing machine of thischaracter the clothes basket may be continuously supplied with cleanwashing liquid during the washing operation. This, of course, results ina particularly effective washing of the clothes. the clothes basket withclean washing liquid the recirculation system creates a flow of theliquid from the basket into the outer tub of the machine and thence fromthe tub back into the basket again. The liquid flowing from the basketinto the tub carries with it the lint and insoluble soil particles whichare removed from the clothes by the washing action within the basket,and these soil particles and the lint are then removed from the liquidbefore it is returned to the basket. The insoluble soil particles tendto settle out of the liquid during its passage To supply a Iii throughthe outer tub and suitable filtering means are I withdrawing the liquidfrom the outer tub and a hose for carrying the liquid from the pumpoutlet to the filtering means and the clothes basket. In order tocontrol the rate of the flow through the system, flow control orrestrictor means may be provided within the hose. These flow control orrestrictor means limit the flow to a preselected suitable value foreffective operation of the filtering means. Restrictors are necessary tocontrol the flow, incidentally, because changing the overall innerdiameter of the hose changes only the velocity of the flow and not itsrate or quantity. The restrictors provided heretofore have, however, notbeen entirely satisfactory since they tend to clog with lint after aperiod of use. This lint clogging is undesirable since it results in therecirculation flow being reduced below that desired and in fact if theclogging becomes severe enough, it may shut off the flow through thesystem almost entirely.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide an improvedrecirculation system for washing machines, which includes a new andimproved hose having integral restrictor means for controlling the rateof the recirculation flow without causing lint clogging within the hose.

Another object of my invention is to provide washing machine hose,having improved restrictor. means formed integrally therein which areeffective to control'the rate of the liquid flow through the hose butwhich are extremely insusceptible to lint clogging.

In carrying out my invention I provide a clothes Washing machine havinga clothes basket'enclosed within an outer imperforate tub. Arecirculation system is incorporated within this machine for circulatinga flow of liquid through the basket and the tub during the washingwithin the hose.

operation. The recirculation system includes a pump and a hose forwithdrawing the liquid from the tub and carrying it to the basket. By myinvention the hose includes a plurality of spaced apart, reduceddiameter sec tions for controlling the rate of flow passingtherethrough. These reduced diameter sections together provide arestricting effect limiting the recirculation flow to the desired value.The reduced diameter sections are however so formed that they do notordinarily cause lint clogging Each of the sections, according to myinvention, has a smooth curved cross section so that no sharp edges arepresented to the flow at any point. As a result lint does not collect atthe reduced diameter sections and clogging of the hose is ordinarilyavoided.

The subject matter which I regard as my invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of thisspecification. The invention itself, however, may be best understood byreference to the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a clothes washing machine includinga recirculation system embodying my invention, the view being partiallybroken away and partially in section in order to illustrate details; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view, partially broken away and partially insection, of the novel flow restricting hose included in therecirculation system of the machine of Fig. 1.

Referring now to Fig. l, I have shown therein an agitator type clotheswashing machine 1. The machine 1 includes a clothes basket 2 which isdisposed within an outer imperforate tub or casing 3. The tub 3 is inturn mounted within an appearance cabinet 4. At the center of the washbasket 2 there is positioned a vertical axis agitator 5 which includes acenter post 6 and a plurality of radially extending vanes 7. Theagitator is further provided with an outwardly and downwardly flaredskirt 8 to which the vanes 7 are adjoined at their lower edges. Theskirt 8 extends to a position in proximity to the bottom of the basket 2and covers a substantial portion thereof.

Both the clothes basket 2 and the agitator 5 are rotatably mounted. Thebasket is mounted on a flange 9 of a rotatable hub 10, and the agitator5 is mounted on a shaft (not shown) which extends upwardly through thehub 10 and the center post 6. The agitator is secured to this shaft bymeans of an internally threaded nut or cap 11 at the top of the centerpost. During the cycle of operation of the machine 1, the agitator 5 isfirst oscillated back and forth within the basket to wash the clothestherein. Then, after a predetermined period of this washing action, thebasket 2 is rotated at high speed to extract centrifugally the washingliquid and discharge it into the outer tub 3. In a preferred cycle ofoperation a supply of clean liquid is introduced into the wash basketfor rinsing the clothes, and the agitator is again oscillated. Finally,the wash basket is once more rotated at high speed to extract the rinsewater and discharge it into the outer tub.

The basket 2 and the agitator 5 may be driven by any suitable means asthe drive means form no part of the present invention. However, by wayof example, I have shown them as driven from a reversible motor 12. Themotor 12 drives the basket and the agitator through a drive including abi-directional clutch 13 which is mounted on the motor shaft. The clutch13 is directional responsive, and it is connected by suitable belts todrive selectively the input pulleys 14 and 15 of a transmission assembly16 depending upon the direction of motor rotation. Specifically; uponone direction of motor rotation the clutch drives pulley 14 and upon theother direction of motor rotation it drives pulley 15.

Patented May 27, 19 58 '2 L3 y The transmission 16 is so arranged thatit supports and drives both the agitator drive shaft and the basketmountinthe hose. Ihese reduced diameter sections or poring hub 10. Whenthe pulley 14 is driven by the bi-di- V rectional clutch 13, thetransmission causesthe agitator to;oscillate within the basket 2.-Conversely when the pulley 15 is driven, the. transmission drives thewash basket 2 and the agitator 5 together at high speed for centrifugalextraction. Thus, the operation carried out,

' i, eagitation or centrifugal extraction, is controlled by thedirection of rotation by the drive motor, agitation occurring when themotor turns in one direction and centrifugalextraction occurring when itturns in the other direction. Although the drive mechanism forms no'part of. the ipresent invention, reference is made to Patents 2,639,618and 2,639,794 to J. W. McNairy both issued May 2 6,, 195.3and assignedto the assignees of the present invention. These patents disclose indetail the structural characteristics of the drive' mechanism includingthebidirectional clutch and 'the tran smission assembly.

-The transmission assembly 16, and thus the basket 2 and the agitator5which are supported by it, are mounted fiointhe cabinet 4 by means of aresiliently supported frame 17. This is done so that some gyratorymotion or vibration of the basket may occurrelative to the tub 3 duringthe spin or extraction operation, thetub itself'being rigidly secured tothe cabinet 4. A flexible boot 18 mounted between the transmissioncasing and the tub permits. the relative movement While providing aWater tight seal therebetween; Preferably and as shown, the motor 12 andthe'clutch 13 are also mounted on the frame 17 so that they move withthe basket.

' In order to clean and filter the washing liquid during the washingoperation, the machine 1 is provided with a recirculation systemwhichcirculates washing liquid from the tub 3 into the basket 2throughout that operation. This recirculation system includes a pump 19which is secured 'to the bottom wall of the tub 3 and which withdrawsthe washing liquid from thetub through a suitable bafile assembly 29.The pump 19 is driven by the motor 12 through a flexible coupling 21between the motor shaftand the pump shaft and during the washingoperation it discharges into a hoseor conduit 22 which leads to a spout23 mounted above the basket 2. The spout 23 discharges the liquid into aperforate filter 24 mounted adjacent the top of the center post 6 of theagitator 5, and from the filter the liquid drains 'back into the basket2. The filter24 is efiective to remove any lint contained in the liqmidand thereby only clean, filtered liquid'is returned to the basket. i

The liquid fiowing into the basket from the filter 24 causes acontinuous overflowing from the basket through. overflow apertures 25provided near the upper edge of thebasket side wall. The liquidoverflowing through these. apertures 25.falls into the tub 3. wherebythere is provided a continuous supply of liquid for the pump 19'and thusa continuous flow of liquid through the recirculation system throughoutthe -washing operation. The liquid. overflowing through the apertures 25tends to carry with it lint removedfrom the clothes as a result of thewashing operation. A portion of this lint then passes through the pump19 and the hose 22 and is removed from the recirculation flow by meansof the filter 24,.

v value with'out the restrictor means themselves being sus-.

ceptible to lint clogging. These restrictor means as best shown iri'Fig.2 comprise a plurality of necked down or reduceddiameterjsec'tionsi26,27fand 28 formed integrally tions 26, 27 and 28are all formed with a curved cross section so that a smooth curved innersurface is formed from the downstream side to the upstream side of eachsection. Having this smooth curved inner surface configuration thenecked down sections 26, 27 and 28" do not present any sharp edges tothe flow passing through the hose and thereby there is little if anytendency for lint to collect on them. As a result they restrict the howthrough the hose withoutjthere being any appreciable lint cloggingoccurring at them. Rather the lint is carried freely from the pump 19 tothe filter 24.

In order to act as effective flow restrictors, the smooth curved neckeddown portions 26, 27 and 28 should be spaced apart from each other. Inother words they should not be immediately adjacent each other along thehose. It has been found that as the distance between the neckeddownsectionsgincreases, the restriction effect also increases somewhat. Byway ofexample it has been found that reduced diameter'portions are bestspaced at least three inches apart in a hose which is designed to pass anormal flow ofsix gallons per minute when connected to a pump developinga pressure of from; three to four pounds per square inch. Thisparticular hose has an inside diameter of 3 of an inch andthesmallcst'diameter of the three necked down section is approximately0.415 inch. The radius of the inner curved surfaceEof the neckeddown'sections is approximately 0.218: inch,

and thus the distancebetwecn the necked down sections is appreciablygreater than the length'vof, the sections themselves. This is clearlyshown in Fig.1. I have found incidentally thatthishose allows a'slightlygreater" flow when the machine iis filled with hot water than with cold,for example -about one gallon more per minute.

Any suitable pumpmay be used to create the recirculation flow during thewashing operation. fHowever in the machine 1 I' have shown a pump whichdischarges into one or two outlets depending upon the direction ofip'umprotation. 'A directional pump of this sort is described 7 I thatpressure when there is alevel of from two to three inches of water inthe tub 3 and in my preferred embodi-. ment such a level is produced 'byapproximately six 7 gallons of liquid in the tub. Incidentally in thispreferred. embodiment the clothes basket-2 holdsapp'roximately seventeengallons of liquid, and during the original filling operation the basketis first filled and then thesix gallons are overflowed in the tub. 'Awater level responsive switch in the tub then terminates the fillingoperation.

When the above'mentioned Bochan directional. pump is used, one of thetwo outlets of the pump is connected to the recirculation hose orconduit 22 for-returning liq -u id to the basketZ during the washingoperation. The

other pump outlet is connected to a hose 29 whichis adaptedto-belconnected'or disposed for discharge to a stationary tub or drainline. The pump 19 is so'a'rrangcd that upon-one direction of motorrotation corresponding 1 to the driving of the agitator 5, the pumpoutputis discharged. through conduit 22 for return to the basket 2through the filter 24.. Conversely'upon rotation of the motor in thereverse direction for spinningjthe'ba sket' 2, theliq'uid is pumpedthrough conduit 29 to the 1 drain;

'It'wijll be'understood however that a conventional'- punip withsuitable solenoid operated valve means may beftise'd in place of thedirectional pump to effectthis-lresult', that my 'invention isnotlimited-to a-machine-havinga directional pump; My new andimproved'hosewill act to limit the recirculation flow tothe properamount'without any lint clogging ordinarily occurring therein at-therestrictor means 'no matter what the type of pump used.

Besides flushing lint from the wash basket 2, the-illustratedrecirculation system is also elfective to remove insoluble soilparticles from the basket. 7 During the operation of the agitator theinsoluble soil particles removed from the clothes tend to sink to thebottom of the basket and then move into the quiescent zone existingunder the skirt 8 of the agitator. In order to remove these soilparticles from that region beneath the agitator skirt there is provideda nozzle 30 in the bottom wall of the basket. i

A controlled flow of liquid is discharged from the basket through thisnozzle 30, and this flow carries with it the insoluble soil particles. Aboot 31 extending outwardly from the top of the hub 10 to the bottomwall of the basket prevents the soil particles from entering the more orless stagnant area adjacent the hub. These soil particles discharged outthrough the noule 30 tend to settle out in the tub during the passage ofliquid therethrough to the pump 19 and are thereby not returned to thebasket through the recirculation system. If however some soil particlesare pulled into the pump and passed outward- 1y into the hose 22, therewill be no collection of soil in the hose due to the configuration ofthe new and improved restriction means. Just as the lint does not catchon the smooth curved configuration of the restrictions 26, 27 and 28 soalso soil will not collect thereon but rather is swept past them by theflow. The soil particles which collect in the tub and also the lintwhich is removed by the filter 24 are later discharged from the tubduring a centrifugal extraction operation. At that time due to the largequantity of water discharged from the basket into the tub considerableturbulence is created in the tub and this turbulence results in the soilparticles and the lint being washed into the pump. The lint and soilparticles are then discharged out of the machine through the hose 5-.

scribed and claimed in the copending application of Wil- I liam R.Molnar, S. N. 468,459 filed November 12, 1954, now Patent No. 2,807,949of October 1, 1957 and assigned to the same assignee as the presentinvention.

To summarize briefly the operation of the machine 1, the clothes basket2 is first filled with water by a suitable water supply means (notshown). Preferably the basket is filled completely full to the overflowlevel defined by the apertures 25 near its upper edge, and then aquantity of water is overflowed into the outer tub through the apertures25. A suitable soap or detergent is either supplied with the water oradded after the filling operation is completed. Then the agitator 5 isoscillated to produce a churning motion of the liquid and a tumblingmotion of the articles of clothing contained within the basket.

This action results in removal of dirt or soil from the clothes and alsocauses a quantity of lint to be separated from the clothes.

Simultaneously with the operation of the agitator the pump 19 creates aflow through the recirculation system comprising the pump itself, thehose 22, the spout 23 and the filter 24. This flow causes a continuousoverflowing of the basket through the apertures 25 and also suppliesmake-up liquid for the liquid discharged from the basket through thesoil removal nozzle 30. The hose 22 due to the provision of therestrictors 26, 27 and 28 therein limits the amount of the rate of therecirculation flow to a preselected suitable value, for example sixgallons per minute. As the washing liquid overflows from the basketthrough the apertures 25, lint is flushed from the basket with it. Also,as liquid is discharged through the nozzle 30, insoluble soil particlesare carried into the outer tub 3. As mentioned above, the insoluble soilparticles tend to settle out of the liquid within the tub, but a portionof the lint is carried into the pump 19 and is passed upward- 1y throughthe hose 22 in the recirculation flow. This figuration of therestrictors 26, 27 and 28 and their lack of sharp edges the lint iscarried easily past them by the flow without collecting thereat andcausing clogging of the hose.

In the filter 24 the lint is separated from the flow. As mentioned.above, the lint is then retained by the filter while the cleaned,filtered liquid passes downwardly into the basket. Thus a continuousflow of filtered, soil free liquid is passed into the washing basketduring the washing operation to produce a particularly effective washingaction.

The soil particles and the lint deposited in the tab by therecirculation system are removed from the tub during the centrifugalextraction or spin stages of the machine. During the centrifugalextraction stage the basket 2 is rotated at high speed and the liquidcontents of the *9; basket are very rapidly discharged into the outertub.

This results in a high degree of turbulence in the tub which washes thesoil particles and lint collected during the agitation stage into thepump 19 for discharge through hose 29 to the drain. Thereby any seriousor undesirable collection of insoluble soil particles and lint withinthe tub is prevented. Furthermore, as the centrifugal extraction periodcontinues all the water is pumped from the outer tub carrying with itthe soil particles and lint which have not settled out of the water.

From the above it will be seen that I have provided a recirculationsystem including a new and improved flow controlling hose. This hose dueto the action of the necked down restrictor sections therein limits therecirculation flow to a predetermined suitable value. The necked downsections do not however collect any lint from the flow due to theirsmooth curved configuration. Rather the lint passes freely by them anddoes not clog within the hose; it is carried freely from the pump 19 tothe filter 24 where it is removed from the flow.

While in accordance with the patent statutes I have described what atpresent is considered to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, itwill be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from the invention,and I, therefore, aim in the appended claims to cover all suchequivalent variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of theinvention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. In a clothes washing machine, a clothes basket, an outer imperforatetub enclosing said basket and catching the overflow from said basket,and a recirculation system for circulating a flow of liquid through saidbasket and said tub during the washing operation, said system includinga pump and a hose for withdrawing said liquid from said tub andconducting said liquid to said basket, said hose including a pluralityof spaced apart reduced diameter sections for restricting andcontrolling the rate of the liquid flow through said system, saidreduced diameter sections being spaced apart a distance greater than theindividual lengths of said sections, and each of said sections having asmooth curved cross section so that no sharp edges are presented to theflow, thereby to minimize lint clogging.

2. In a clothes washing machine, a clothes basket, an outer imperforatetub enclosing said basket and arranged to receive the liquid dischargedfrom said basket, and a recirculation system for circulating a flow ofliquid from said tub into said basket during the washing operation, saidsystem including a pump for withdrawing liquid from said tub and a hosefor carrying said liquid from said pump to said basket, said hoseincluding a plurality of spaced apart integral necked down sections forrestricting and controlling the rate of the liquid flow through saidsystem, said necked down sections being spaced apart a mize lintcloggiug'within i said hosed diisgage :greafrl than thelindividual'lefigths of said-55cc i 1 tions, and the innenzsurface of eachfiflsaiduecked down sectipn; forming 'a "sniqothf cur-ve fi' dm ith down traruisideidthe upstrani sidofthe sectidn; thereby to m'imf V V 3'.;Inla;c1othes washing machifie;aclothsbaskgt; an outer imperforate tubenclosing said basket and-arrangedtQ'lfiCEiV liquid :disCharged.from-=said basketg' -a pump V for withdrawing .liquid z'fro' mv- 'saidtub; and a'hos e'r-con- V nectedtoan outlet of said pump for receivingand conm ductingv awayi'the liquid discharged by-said pump, said ho'se;including a plurality, of spaced apart-necked down rqs trictor sections.for :r'esfricting and controllingdhelrate 7 agssago w by-td'mihihiii

